


empire of ash

by Tyranno



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Dark Magic, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Harrow is there.... in spirit ;) ;), King Harrow is back! kind of ;), Necromancy, Soul Shenanigans, Viren is evil and harrow is... at least morally grey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 08:43:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16133729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyranno/pseuds/Tyranno
Summary: Viren has practiced all sorts of dark magic. Nothing is beyond his curiosity, no ingredient too obscure for Harrow to provide, no sacrifice large or bloody enough to turn his stomach. All of nature was open for him to change. But there was one challenge he thought he could never rise to, one law he would not break, one thing he could never attempt.He was wrong.Viren would raise the dead, at any cost.[discontinued, if you want to adopt just lmk ;) ]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> gen, this time. its nice to get back to my roots
> 
> this story is set... sometime post s1? Callum + rayla have been captured by Viren, Ezran + the animals are in the forest outside the castle

Rain pounded so heavily on the stone paving far above their heads that they could hear it from the dungeon as a soft murmur. The only other sounds was a distant, uneven dripping. A chill spread through the still air. 

Rayla sighed, letting her arms go slack. They were manacled to the wall above her head. “I didn’t think I’d ever be back here,” She said. 

“I’m sorry,” Callum frowned, “I thought—I thought we could trust Claudia. I’ve known her all my life, I didn’t think she’d betray me.” 

“It’s alright,” Rayla said. 

“It’s not,” Callum gritted his teeth. His chains ran over the binding above his head, clinking loudly as he moved,“I should have known. It was such an obvious trap. I should have known she was working with Viren—he’s her father, after all. And she already attacked us when we got the egg all those months ago. Now he’s going to get him again and I don’t think he’ll spare now that it’s hatched!” 

“Azymondias will be fine,” Rayla insisted, “Your brother’s got him. He’ll keep him safe.” 

“And how long until one of the palace guards find him?” Callum glared, “He’s only in the forest—and he’s terrible at hiding!” 

It was dark, but Rayla’s eyes were keen enough to see the prince shift, drawing his knees up to his chest. His expression was grim, his mouth a hard line. 

“Listen, there’s nothing that can be done about it now,” Rayla said. She tried to shift closer to him, but her chains went taut. She flopped back against the stone, “We’ll find a way through. We always do.” 

Callum breathed out deeply, through his nose. He nodded. 

Rayla bit her lip. She took a deep breath, “Callum, I think—”

She stopped dead. Callum glanced over, and his eyes narrowed when he saw her long ears twitch. She had heard something. 

A few moments passed, enough that Rayla started to think she might have only imagined the sound—until she heard it again. 

Footsteps. 

Rayla gave Callum a meaningful look. 

“How many?” Callum asked, drawing himself flat against the wall. From the way he tilted his head, Rayla knew they were loud enough for him to pick up the sound too. 

“Three,” Rayla said. 

Callum swallowed thickly. 

The footfalls told her the men had reached the bottom of the stone spiral staircase and were making their way down the hall towards them. The sounds echoed hollowly along the bare corridor. They stopped outside the captive’s dungeon, keys rattling. 

The door swung open. 

Viren stood in the doorway, flanked by two guards. He glanced at Rayla. 

Rayla had not seen him before—but somehow already had a good idea what he would look like. It wasn’t the finely tailored clothing or the neat grey-flecked beard she found familiar. It wasn’t even the High Mage’s enchanted silver staff she recognised. It was the look in his eyes which reflected every story she had heard of human magic. It was a look of distain. 

“I won’t tell you anything,” Callum insisted, the silence unnerving him. 

“Prince Callum,” Viren’s grey-blue eyes flicked over the Callum with a mild expression, “How pleasant it is to see you again.” 

“The feeling’s not mutual,” Rayla interjected. She had a strong urge to attract Viren’s attention—there was something in his eyes when he looked at Callum. Something predatory. 

“Well, that’s a shame,” Viren said, glancing at her for a moment, before returning his eyes to Callum, “Is your brother dead?” 

Callum jolted, eyes widening, before he controlled his reaction, “That’s none of your business.” 

“Alive, then,” Viren shifted back, changing his grip on the staff, “Well, that’s hardly going to be a problem for much longer.” 

“You aren’t going to hurt him!” Rayla hissed, “He’ll be halfway to Xadia by now. You’ve lost your chance.” 

“Bluffing,” Viren said, simply. He hadn’t even looked at her. 

Rayla blinked, quickly. She was usually a good liar. 

“I haven’t come here to pick apart your woefully fragile lies,” Viren said, finally taking his eyes off Callum to glance at his guards, “Take him.” 

“No!” Rayla shouted, but the guards ignored her, surging forward. 

Callum was too startled to resist as the guards unlocked his manacles and pulled him to his feet. With his arms pinned behind him, he was shepherded from the room. 

The door swung shut behind him, and he could hear Rayla’s muffled shouts. The back of Callum’s neck prickled and he felt the temperature drop a few degrees. His heart raced. 

“Y-You won’t get anything from me,” Callum said, walking in step with his guards.

“I don’t want anything from you,” Viren said, silkily. He looked ahead, and all Callum could see of him was the smooth curve of his high cheekbones, and the corner of a smile. 

“No matter what you do,” Callum said, trying to will determination into his voice, “I won’t tell. Not even if you torture me—”

“Torture you?” Viren turned and Callum was hit by the full intensity of Viren’s gaze. This close, Callum could see his gaze, dark and very still. It were different from when Callum had last seen it—there was a madness in those eyes now. The sick look of a true believer. 

“I’m not going to torture you,” Viren said. 

“You’re not?” Callum asked, voice barely above a whisper. 

“No,” Viren said, “I doubt you will feel a thing.” 

Callum swallowed thickly.


	2. Chapter 2

“If we get caught, tell Dad I was just trying to stop you snooping.”

“Will you shut up?” Claudia hissed, flattening herself against the wall, watching as a guard passed through the archway down the hall. When the coast was clear, she padded forward, dragging her brother after her.

Soren pulled his hand out of her grasp but kept up with her, “We shouldn’t be snooping around.”

“What part of shut up are you struggling with?” Claudia glared up at him, “Oh, I know—the shutting up bit!”

“I’m just saying,” Soren raised both hands in a placating gesture, “If you just asked, he’d tell you what he was doing.”

Claudia bit her lip. She peered around the archway, one hand on Soren’s chest to stop him coming further forward. She watched empty hallway for a long moment, “Come on. Keep up.”

Soren followed her down the corridor, “I can keep up! Of course I can keep—”

“Shut it!” Claudia hissed. She opened a small door and slipped inside, holding it open barely long enough for Soren to follow her in before she slammed it shut. It was dim inside the room, no natural light penetrating the heavy stone. The gloom gave her a heavy, cloying feeling.

“What’re you so worried about?” Soren asked.

“I think… I think he’s up to something,” Claudia said, carefully. “I think… it has something to do with the princes.”

“The princes?” Soren asked, voice unusually high. He massaged his sternum and repeated, in a lower voice, “What about the princes?”

Claudia gave him a strange look, “Did he tell you something about them? It was weird. When we brought Callum back, he said—the way he said...”

 _Well, you’ve done half the job, Soren_ , he’d said, with a strange look in his eye, _I’ll do the other half._

Soren shook his head quickly, “It wasn’t weird.”

Claudia looked at him for a long moment, and shook her head, “I suppose it wasn’t.”

Soren swallowed and pushed off from the wall, “What are we looking for, then?”

“Nothing in particular,” Claudia said, heading towards the other side of the room. She pulled on a heavy oak door, “He’s been collecting a few very powerful artefacts, taking some out of the vault and requesting some be transferred from other castles to here. I’m worried he’s doing something dangerous.”

“It will be something that benefits the whole of the country, though,” Soren insisted half-heartedly.

“Right,” Claudia said, without faith, “Except… The King had a lot of advisors, right? And Dad doesn’t have any. He could be making a mistake and not even know it.”

“What kind of mistake?” Soren asked, narrowing his eyes.

Claudia pushed the heavy door all the way open, “I don’t know.”

The doorway revealed a dark, rough-cut stone staircase, shadows clinging to every corner. Light barely touched the first few steps before it became utter blackness.

Claudia took the first few steps slowly, followed closely by her brother.

As they descended, the light receded. Claudia was forced to walk at a shuffling pace, feeling her way with her feet. The world was grey and shifting. Some time after they had started walking, the door shut above them and what little light that had seeped through winked out.

Claudia didn’t know how long she was walking for. She strained her ears to hear the regular rhythm of her brother’s breathing. The path turned and turned as they walked, corkscrewing into the blackness. The darkness was uninterrupted and she had the unnerving impression that if she began to fall she would fall forever.

Eventually, another light source appeared from the blackness. It was the flickering of torchlight, a faint orange. As they walked on and on, it got brighter, until they turned the final corner and the full stunning force of the light hit them.

Claudia leaned against the wall, blinking and blinking.

Viren’s laboratory was different to when she had last visited it. The two stone tables had been moved from the opposite sides of the room and pushed into the centre of the rooms, the piles of supplies removed and replaced with something large, one on each table, covered by dark sheets.

Soren adjusted to the light faster and unhooked a lamp from its bracket and moved closer to the larger of the shapes. He peered at it, reaching out a hand to lift the sheet.

“Don’t!” Claudia yelped.

For once, her brother listened to her, hand covering over the hem of the sheet, “Why? What is it?”

“It’s the King,” Claudia said, breathlessly.

Soren went very still. He cast a look at his sister, wide eyed, “But you—”

“I didn’t burn his body,” Claudia said, “It was… Dad wanted to keep it. That’s why he wanted me to burn it so quickly—it was to stop other people finding out.”

“Keep it?” Soren straightened up, backing away quickly, “But—why? He should be buried!”

“I hope… what I’m thinking of isn’t the reason,” Claudia grimaced.

“If that’s the King, then...” Soren’s eyes found the other shape.

Claudia padded over to the smaller shape. Her perfect nails closed over the hem of the dark sheet and she paused, staring down the lumps under the fabric. It was clearly the outline of a boy, a familiar, straight nose.

She pulled back the sheet very carefully, almost tenderly. When she saw the face, she squeezed her eyes shut.

Callum’s skin was bone-white, all colour drained away. His fringe was brushed back, revealing a forehead Claudia had never seen before. It looked as if the boy was made of wax.

“He’s dead,” Soren said. When he looked closer, he relaxed, “No—he’s still breathing. Alive, then.”

Claudia said nothing. Delicately, she pulled the fabric a little lower, to reveal pale collar bones adorned with brilliant red writing, cut into the skin. Claudia hovered a finger over the words. Her eyes were blown wide.

“ _Apsconsio_ —” Claudia read, and slapped a hand over her mouth. She watched Callum very closely and when nothing happened she seemed to get worse, hands shaking over her mouth.

“What does that mean?” Soren asked.

Claudia couldn’t drag her eyes from the pale lines of Callum’s face. All the colour drained from her face.

“What’s wrong?” Soren asked, louder.

Claudia managed to remove her hands from her face and her eyes closed. She took a deep, shuddering breath. “Dad will be back soon,” Claudia said, “We need to get him out of here. We need to get that elf girl out of the dungeons too, we won’t be able to get far without her.”

Soren put a hand on his sister shoulder, “Claudia, what’s wrong? What does this mean?”

“It means...” Claudia pressed a careful hand to Callum’s shoulder. As she had suspected, he was shockingly hot despite his pallor, his skin like the surface of a lit stove, “It means you were right the first time. Callum’s dead—or he will be, if we don’t take him out of here.”


	3. Chapter 3

Noise crashed through the dark forest, shaking birds from the trees. 

Ezran yanked Azymondias back into the hollow tree they were hiding in, burying the dragon in his pack. Bair was easier to hide, sitting under Ezran’s knee silently—but Azymondias did not have any sense, squirming and chirping like Ezran was just playing. He pushed the dragon’s fluffy head into the bark, trying to muffle his noises and stayed very still. 

The crashing continued. Ezran stared through the peep-hole in the wood, watching the grass shift in the wind across the empty clearing. A bird swooped low over the forest. Night was descending quickly, the dawn drawing closed. 

“Ezran!” Rayla shouted through the forest. 

Ezran’s heart jumped and he scrambled into motion, crawling hurriedly out from his hiding place, “Rayla?! Rayla, I’m here!” 

Moments later, Rayla sprinted into the clearing. She dropped to her knees next to the Prince, pulling him upwards, “You’re safe? You’re okay?” 

“Yes, I’m fine,” Ezran said, “Azzy and Bait are fine too. Where’s Callum?” 

Just then, Claudia and Soren entered the clearing riding palace horses, a third horse’s reins tied to Soren’s saddle. Soren carried a large bundle in his arms. Claudia waved down at him, “Hello, Ezran.” 

“You two!” Ezran jumped up. 

“Chill, little prince,” Soren said, “We’re on your side this time.”

Ezran glanced at Rayla, who nodded reluctantly, “It’s true. Come on, Callum’s sick, so we have to move quickly.” 

Rayla led Ezran to the third horse and began untying the reins quickly. She pulled them free and mounted the horse in one fluid motion. “Come on, Ezran,” She beckoned. 

Ezran looked up to the bundle in Soren’s arms, the black hair poking out of the top. “Is that Callum?” 

Soren pulled the folds of the blanket away, revealing Callum’s still, bloodless face. The older prince’s head lolled against Soren’s shoulder. 

Ezran stared. 

“He’s alive,” Rayla said, quickly, “We’ll be able to help him when we leave the Palace grounds. Come on, Ezran.” 

Numbly, Ezran followed her orders, climbing into the saddle in front of her. Rayla kept one arm around him and wrapped the reins around the other. The moment she was settled, Soren kicked his horse and the three mounts lurched into gallops. 

They rode hard, tearing up the earth. The forest whipped by, a blur of green. Callum jostled in Soren’s grip, head bouncing on his shoulder. As they rode, the forest grew darker and darker as the orange disc of sun disappeared over the treetops. 

After what felt like an hour of riding, Soren signalled with his free hand and the rides slowed. 

“Dad won’t notice Callum’s missing until the morning check,” Claudia said. ‘I hope’ went unsaid. 

“We’re very traceable,” Soren said, glancing back at the earth behind them, “It just rained so the earth’s very impressionable and the scents will be fresh.” 

“Can’t be helped,” Claudia sighed, shifting her pack, “We can rest soon. Just over this rise there’s a little cave we can stay in.” 

“What happened to Callum?” Ezran chirped up. 

Claudia cast him a long, lingering look. Rayla tightened her grip on the little prince. 

“What?” Ezran asked, “What’s wrong?” 

“Let’s get into the cave first,” Soren said, urging his horse on. He took the lead, and as they trotted the land swooped downwards dramatically, revealing pockmarks of caves of various sizes. With some persuasion, the horses navigated down the steep hill and into a deep cave that was half-hidden by the uneven landscape. 

“It would have been nice to know about this when we left the Palace the first time around,” Rayla said as she traced the ceiling with an appraising gaze, “We slept under a tree in the open, last time.” 

Soren gave her a flat look, “It’s a real wonder we didn’t catch you earlier.” 

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Ezran said, quietly. He had not drawn his eyes from the limp form of his brother. 

When all of them were inside the cave, Claudia gestured to a spot far away from the mouth of the cave, “Put him down there.” It was a mark of how tired Soren was that he didn’t complain at her bossiness, only gently setting down the still prince, arranging his sheets so that he was swaddled like a baby. 

From her bag, Claudia pulled out her primal stone. Ezran blinked as he recognised the arcs of lightning that cut through the purple clouds inside the stone. 

“You’ve got another storm primal stone?” Ezran asked, perking up as he dismounted. 

“Yes,” Claudia said, “But this is the last one I have of this kind. What happened to my other one? Do you still have it?” 

“Uh… no,” Ezran said, sheepishly, “We kind of smashed it. But it was for a good cause!” 

Claudia looked like she didn’t really believe him, but didn’t say anything about it. Instead, she turned and headed for the cave entrance. “I’m going to see if I can wipe away the worst of our smell and maybe cause a rain too, which will move the mud in our tracks. It might help.” She padded out of the cave. 

Ezran sat next to his brother, brushing his dark hair from his forehead. “He’s hot,” Ezran said, startled. He touched Callum’s forehead experimentally and recoiled again. 

“He is,” Soren said, “It was like carrying an oven with me the whole way here. It’s weird.” 

Ezran pressed his palm to his brother’s forehead. He didn’t even stir. “What’s wrong with him?” 

Rayla stood up, suddenly, “His soul was severed.” 

“What?” Ezran yelped. 

“Almost severed,” Soren said, “Claudia said it wasn’t entirely gone.” 

“But—why?” Ezran stared down at Callum, “Is he going to be okay?” 

Claudia reappeared, climbing back into the cave, “I can explain everything. But we need to start a fire, near the entrance.” 

Rayla nodded, gathering tinder from the back of the cave and arranging a little mound of wood. Her expression was sour. 

“Our dad wanted to… revive King Harrow,” Claudia explained, sitting by the wood and pulling a match from her bag. “He could draw back his spirit from the other realm, but he had to have an empty vessel to put it into. That’s why he did that to Callum, loosening most of his soul. It’s still connected to him but it’s… floating around?” 

“How do we put it back in?” Rayla asked. 

“It should happen naturally,” Claudia said, “There are a few things we can do to help him, though.” 

With a final strike of the match, fire bloomed in Claudia’s hands. She dropped the lit match into the dry wood and it ignited with a whoosh. 

“Bring him closer,” Claudia glanced at Soren. 

Soren lifted Callum’s body and shuffled him closer to the fire. Callum faced the fire, face relaxed as if he were sleeping. 

“How long will it take?” Ezran asked. 

“I don’t know,” Claudia sighed, “It depends if he meets other wandering souls on his way back. No longer than a week or two.” 

“I can’t believe this,” Rayla rubbed her eyes, “This is so—vile.” 

Claudia almost winced, but she nodded. 

“Well, I’m going to bed,” Soren said, standing up and stretching, “Wake me up when we’re declared traitors and there’s a warrant out for our arrest.” 

Claudia grumbled, pulling her bedroll from her pack, “That’s not funny.”


End file.
